Clusters appear as wet cotton on items like cables, ropes, and fishing lines

Diet: Fishhook waterfleas consume other zooplankton species.

Habitat: Fishhook waterfleas live in freshwater and brackish lakes.

Native Range: Aral, Azov, Black, and Caspian seas of Asia and Europe

U.S. Distribution: The fishhook waterflea has been reported in Lakes Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Huron, Superior, Muskegon Lake, and the Finger Lakes of New York.

Local Concern: Dietary preference put this species in direct competition with native planktivores. The long tail spine and barbs make this zooplankton less appealing to planktivorous fish, so population regulation from predation is unlikely to occur. This could have a serious effect on planktivore food supply in the Great Lakes region.